McQuaig has already made her party look foolish, and required a party spokesman to distance the NDP from her comments within the first two weeks of what will be a long campaign. There's no telling how many times that will repeat.

If he is, it will prove to be good news to the rival Liberal and Conservative parties. If Mulcair lacks the nerve to lance a boil like McQuaig, the other two parties will be more than happy to watch her fester and infect the public's perception of the NDP and its leader.